Wire fence



(No Model.)

A. &VC. A. CHURCH. WIRE FENCE.Y

No. 590,357. Patented'Sept- 21,1897.

witnesses. y Invenors Jaw a/yo.,

RW' @l UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

ANDREIV CHURCII AND CHARLES A. CHURCH, OF ADRIAN, MICHIGAN.

WIRE

FENCE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent N o. 590,357, dated September 21, 189'?.

Application tiled July 23,

To all whom, t nuty concern:

Be it known that we, ANDREW CHURCH and CHARLES A. CHURCH, citizens of the United States, residing at Adrian, Lenawee county, Michigan, have invented certain newand useful Improvements in Wire Fences, of which the following is a specification.

Our invention relates to that class of wire fences in which the horizontal wires are braced and held in parallel relation by means of suitable vertical wires, and more particularly to the means for securing the vertical wires to the horizont-al wires.

Our inventionl has for its object to provide a cheap, simple, and etlicient device for securing horizontal and vertical wires together and one which may be easily and rapidly applied by one person without other assistance. XVe attain this objectby means of the device hereinafter described, and shown and illustrated in the accompanying drawings, made part hereof, in which- Figure l is a View of our device in course of construction; Fig. 2, the same complete; and Fig. 3, a blank, hereinafter referred to, as it leaves the die.

In the drawings, a a. are the fence-posts, to which the horizontal wires b b are secured in the usual manner. At desired intervals be tween the posts the horizontal wires are connected together and braced and held in parallel relation by means of vertical wires c, which are bent in U shape to form a loop, the bend being at the top of the fence and the extremities of the loop being at the bottom of the fence, as shown.

Before applying the vertical wires each of thehorizontal wires is crimped or bent with a short horizontal bend b', the bends all being in the same direction and in vertical rows where the braces or ties c are to be applied. The crimps or bends b in the horizontal wires are short enough to fall between the two legs of the vertical braces c c. The horizontal and vertical wires are now secured together by means of plate d, the construction of which and the manner of applying the same we will proceed to explain.

Plate d, by means of suitable dies, is struck from sheet metal, and the blank thus formed in shape resembles a letter H having its con- 1896. seria No. 600,245. (No man.)

necting-stroke d' broader than usual. Each of the four prongs d2 of the blank is now bent in a short curve, the centers of the prongs falling on one side of the part d in a plane parallel therewith and the extremities of the curved prongs falling on the opposite side of the part d' in a plane parallel therewith. The side of the plate toward which the prongs are curved will for convenience be termed the front side and the opposite side the back side. Plate d thus shaped is now placed upon the top horizontal wire by slipping the back side of the portion d ofthe plate into the crimp or bend of the horizontal wire, the wire passing into and through the spaces between the pairs of prongs d2. There will now be between the front side of the pairs of deflection two small openings, (see Fig. 1,) into which theextremities of the brace or tie are pushed downwardly a short distance, as illustrated by the dotted lines in Fig. l. In like manner plates (l are applied to all the Wires in vertical rows, proceeding from the top downwardly, the brace ortie beingpushed down one step farther as each plate is added until all the plates are in place and the brace or tie is pushed down far enough to be engaged by all the plates. The next and last step is to crimp or upset the curved prongs d2, so that they shall tightly clasp and hold the legs of the brace or tie, thus firmly securing together the wires, braces, and plates. This is accomplished by means of a special b in the horizontal wires. This tool is fully described in and is made the subject of a separate application concurrent herewith.

Having fully described our invention and, the manner of making and using the same, what we claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

l. In a wire fence a vertical brace or tie having two legs, a horizontal wire having horizontal bends disposed between said two legs, a plate having at each end a pair of spaces between the same, and a connecting portion d', the back side of said connecting portion being disposed within said horizont-al bend, the horizontal wire passing through tool, which is also used for forming the bends curved prongs and the wire at its points of f horizontally-extending prongs or fingers with IOO said spaces, and the front side of said prongs or fingers being clamped around said legs, substantially as and for thepurpose specified.

2. A Wire fence comprising posts, horizon- 5 tal wires secured thereto, horizontal bends in said Wires arranged in vertical rows, a vertical brace or tie having tWo legs, said horizontal bends being disposed between said legs, plates bifureated at each end, eaoh pair :o -of prongs thus formed being disposed astride the horizontal wire, the Connecting portion of the plate being disposed within said bend, and the pair of prongs at each end of the plate being clamped around one of the legs of the tie or brace.

ANDREW CHURCH.

CHARLES A. CHURCH. In presence Of- D. B. MORGAN,

F. E. PRIDDY. 

